Kerry Supporters Running Automated Scripts to "Win" online polls

Poll Fixing - Example from Linux Today ^ | self

[Enlightiator]

Kerry is winning the online polls on the debate by such a huge margin, as with the last debate, that its quite obvious that poll spamming by www.DemocratsUnderground.com isn't the cause. In the past, Freerepublic provided online poll links, DU provided online poll links, and it was usually a spirited but decent contest.

Tonights online polls, as with the last debate, indicate that there are certainly far more sophisticated techniques being used to falsely inflate the Kerry vote than DU's normal multiple voting techniques. I have watched CNN and MSNBC go dramatically into a huge (and unbelievable) lead in only minutes. Automated voting scripts are the only thing that would cause such an imbalance so quickly. Its been done before by computer hacks:

Fixing Polls: An Open Letter to MSNBC.com

Looks like Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe has the good fortune to have some real good computer support working the case for Kerry's online polls. Well, Terry did send an email request for "voters," he didn't say they had to be human.

[Fiddlstix]

BTTT

[BigSkyFreeper]

She doesn't have a clue??

Oh, she has a clue Micheal Barone enlightened her on the Democratic tactic to weight the polls heavily in Kerry's favor.

[jporcus]

Exactly right. People like Greta and Ron Reagan (a real idiot) and Joe Trippi (Mr. I-am-the-creator-and-know-it-all-of-political-blogs) know full well that these polls are slanted and driven by automatic scripts, but like to keep quoting them when they are in their favor.

[blondee123]

Reverse Freep this one:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/fc?cid=34&tmpl=fc&in=US&cat=Debate_Poll

[LeoWindhorse]

we are seeing the invisible hand of one Geroge Soros here....

[MplsSteve]

Magic Add A Vote Software?

LMAO! Too funny!

[olde north church]

*****CLEARED FOR RELEASE*****10092004:02:51GMT*****
Tea Leaves, Chicken Entrails and On-Line Polls:
Design Spokesman Dr. Isadore Phreepophen of Auckland Polytechnic explains how viruses are being used to corrupt on-line polls such as those used after the debates to determine the winner. "For all intents and purposes, deviant "scripts", small bits of computer programming code, which are the building blocks of computer viruses are being written and sent to media outlets hundreds of times faster than even an organized group of activists could throw an election."
"What once allowed us to get a fast pulse on the opinions of viewers, have been corrupted," Dr. Phreepophen explained, "until media outlets begin to find a way to block these viruses, these polls are without foundation and those people who quote them and make no mistake, they do so with the full knowlege the information is flawed, are nothing more than snake oil salesman."
******transmission ended*****

[maine-iac7]

Has this been sent to DRUDGE?

[Lexinom]

Yeah. It's fairly simple for a programmer to write a Perl script as well - something which ignores "cookies" and even can to IP spoofing to fake coming from different computers. Needs some technical expertise, but there are plenty of long-haired granolavores in and around Silicon Valley who could do the job.

[Casloy]

I always freep polls for a laugh, as I think a lot of people do. Apparently the Dems take this stuff very seriously.

[SunkenCiv]

Gosh, it's almost as if the DNC has become a culture of cheating, lying, and corruption.

First campaign ends in defeat
by Brian C. Mooney
6/18/2003
PART 4

To win the primary, the newcomer overcame the election eve arrest of his brother, Cameron, and campaign field director Thomas J. Vallely, both then 22, in the basement of a Lowell building that housed the headquarters of Kerry and another Democratic contender, state Representative Anthony R. DiFruscia of Lawrence. It was almost 2 a.m. - 30 hours before the polls opened - when the two were arrested on charges of breaking and entering with intent to commit larceny.

That day's Sun blared a memorable, double-deck headline: "Kerry brother arrested in Lowell 'Watergate."' DiFruscia, getting some extra ink in the campaign's waning hours, had drawn the parallel to the break-in at Democratic headquarters in Washington three months earlier.

The article is still online (was last week anyhow) and the intent of the break-in is mentioned...

[CyberAnt]

But the polls are so discredited .. the jokes on McAwful. He tried (as the dems always do) to win by cheating .. ROTFLOL! McAwful's plan to win has backfired on him .. what an ignorant dufus. The problem Terry is that you think we're stupid. BIG mistake.

[drangundsturm]

I was investigating this myself just last week. I am a senior level software engineer and have worked for major corporations doing internet and network programming.

What I found was that a perl script could be written in just a few hours that could completely automate this process, including spoofing new IP addresses on each "vote" to make detection difficult. Spoofing IP addresses is easy if you don't need to receive back bytes from the url you have hit. In the case of these online polls, all you do is hit the form to cast your vote, and it really doesn't matter if the confirmation page packets do not get back to your program.

Please note that if they are spoofing IP addresses to carry out this attack, then this is potentially a FELONY. It's quite possible that if caught somebody could do jail time for this. (Although, it's unlikely the networks who run this site would care enough to prosecute so maybe not.)

This could be solved by having the online form prompt the user to type in a string of distorted digits chosen randomly. Only humans can perform this task. This method is used by many registration systems such as free online mail systems to ensure robotic programs are not abusing the system. But none of the online polls I've seen are doing this.

[eyespysomething]

I say 8%, but I still say Bush will win.

[mentor2k]

What are scripts?

[Dawgreg]

I have thought that all along Salamander.......and it is indeed scary.

[ejo]

I freep polls for laughs

It is like playing russian roulette.....You never know which poll will infect your computer..voter beware!!!

[Dawgreg]

OMG!...........*~*

[Carry_Okie]

There are those who live bold, and there are those who Diebold.

[anticlimatic]

WHY CAN'T WE FIX POLLS TOO???

Surely we've got someone smart enough to counter this?